Hillary Clinton told the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas on September 4 that OPIC was playing a critical role in bringing more energy to the developing world. “I’m delighted that (OPIC President and CEO) Elizabeth Littlefield is here,” said Clinton. “OPIC is major player in trying to deal with the issue of energy poverty.” Clinton also noted thatRead more…

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield after the announcement of the U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during the Rio+20 Conference on June 22, 2012. [Photo courtesy of Walter Mesquita]

OPIC recently published its annual report for fiscal 2011, a year that OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield describes as “a pivotal year for foreign affairs and a banner year for the U.S. Government’s development finance institution.” Littlefield’s full letter is preinted below, and the complete annual report is available on OPIC.gov. When I embarked on my first full year atRead more…

We frequently share the important pieces of journalism we find on our Facebook and Twitter feeds. Starting this month, we will also begin recapping on our blog some of the stories we consider most important to helping solve critical development challenges. This month there has been increased discussion over ways to encourage more economic development in Afghanistan in order toRead more…

By Elizabeth Littlefield, OPIC President and CEO At first glance, the prospects for American foreign aid and investment might look grim these days. As debt ceiling discussions and proposed austerity measures cast a shadow on all federal spending, money spent or invested far from home might seem an easy target for deep cutbacks. But such a response would be basedRead more…

CNN.com recently explored what happens when the military surge in Afghanistan ends, and highlighted how an OPIC-backed investment can help stimulate many times more the original amount in private-sector investment. “For a $20 million from OPIC,” it notes, “this catalogues $4 billion in private sector investment into the sector…. This shows a very small amount of money, very well applied, canRead more…